


Begin Again

by StillNotReallyThatCool



Series: Procrastination [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Dorks in Love, Falling In Love, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Other, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-03-11 07:59:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13519959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StillNotReallyThatCool/pseuds/StillNotReallyThatCool
Summary: Reader has been trapped in a cycle of breaking up and getting back together with the same person for three years now,fully believing that all love ever does is break, burn and end.All that changes when their loud,angry neighbor upstairs comes down to lecture them about being loud and angry.Or:I'm definitely not putting off writing part two of Dancing With Our Hands Tied by working on smaller projects.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> You could almost completely relate to the lyrics,"I've been spending the last eight months thinking that all love ever does is break and burn and end,but on a Wednesday,in a cafe,I watched it begin again."
> 
> ...Only for you,it was "On a Wednesday after barging into my apartment after being a fucking hypocrite".

Seven. Fucking. Times. 

You’d been dumped by the same person seven times over the past three years. Seven times you let yourself open up to the idea of falling in love,and seven times that hope had been shattered by some ridiculous bullshit that always ended up being a wordier version of,”It’s not you,it’s me”. You weren’t even sure why you kept going back to them when you knew that it was all doomed to go down in flames anyway,but you did. Seven times.

You told yourself that you wouldn’t go back this time. This was it. You were going to pack up their shit and make them leave; you were going to slam the apartment door behind them and say good riddance. It was a long time coming,anyways.

...Then the argument happened. Well. Actually,a fight would be the better word for the even,really,though it was a fight without physical violence- no matter how much you wanted to throw the suitcase at them. Their words were twice as sharp as yours,dipped in venom and hate that you couldn’t begin to wrap your head around,increasing in volume until they were practically shrieking at you and making demands and accusations that you didn’t want to dignify with a response. 

Around you,the air crackled with an intense electricity,and when their tirade was over you,you spoke deliberately:

“I want you out,”you began,your voice dangerously low,”I don’t have to put up with this shit,and I won’t anymore.” 

When they refused to leave,you stood up as straight as you could possibly could,meeting their angry gaze with cold,hardened eyes. 

“I said I want you out. Now. Get the fuck out. GET OUT! NOW!” 

The scream seemed to tear itself out of your throat,scratching and clawing,and you regretted it almost immediately. You had neighbors,ones that probably didn’t want to hear you screaming. For a reason you couldn’t explain,you felt hot tears spill down your cheeks,which made no sense. You weren’t sad; you were tired and pissed off and ready to do something about it.

The knock at your door made you jump; there was no way in hell that someone could’ve already made a noise complaint. Wordlessly,you pushed past your partner and made your way to the door,standing on your tip-toes to look through the peephole. 

It was one of your neighbors. He had just moved in about a week or so ago in the apartment above yours. You hadn’t really seen him much,but you heard him yelling a lot,slightly muffled by distance and the thin plaster walls. He had brown eyes,curly hair,and almost ghostly white skin that was sprinkled with freckles. Despite his babyface,you could tell that he was scowling. 

With a sigh,you unlocked the door and opened it up just enough to peek through the space.

“”What?” you asked,your voice scratchy and hoarse from yelling. You cleared your throat instinctively,only slightly embarrassed by the state of your voice and your tear-stained face.

“I heard screaming and came to check up to make sure no one was being murdered,”he stated,speaking slowly as if to properly enunciate his words. You caught the slightest bit of an accent- New York? Boston? Jersey? Hell,you weren’t that great at placing accents,and you figured that was your best bet. 

“I’m trying to get someone to leave,”you explained,your voice a bit clearer than it was a second ago. He gave you a disbelieving look and tried to peek through the cracked-open door,scrunching his nose and furrowing his brows. 

“Well,could you do it a little quieter? I’ve got shit to do.”

You immediately had flashbacks of the sound of this guy screaming,”SON OF A FUCK!” at seemingly nothing and narrowed your eyes. 

_I think the fuck not._

“Fine. Since you seem to know _soooo_ much about quietly doing shit,why don’t you do it?” you asked,words dripping in sarcasm. 

He pushed on the door with a mumbled,”I will,then,” and proceeded to try to squeeze through your door. You just stared at him for a moment,opening your mouth to say something along the lines of,”I was being sarcastic,genius,” but decided against it. You were too tired to deal with bullshit,anyways,so you opened the door all of the way so he wouldn’t kill himself trying to get in.

It took all of five minutes for your now-ex partner to come out,suitcase in tow and a look of barely concealed anger on their face. For a second,you worried that they were going to say something cruel before leaving,but they left without even a second glance at you.

Almost astonished,you turned to look at the man that had practically performed a miracle. 

“How?” was the only thing you could manage. He looked a lot less pissed off now and a bit more at ease,which...honestly made you realize that he was cute,which was a stark contrast to his answer:

“I said I was going to beat the shit out of them,”he answered bluntly. Your eyes widened. 

“Dude...uh..that's like,assault.”

He looked up at you,hands crammed in his pockets as if the word “assault” did not faze him at all. You would later learn that he’d never gotten into a fight in his life and that he was just pulling the threat out of his ass,but in the moment,you were kind of in awe.

“And?Don’t think I didn’t hear them screaming at you first. That shit’s not right. You shouldn’t be a fucking dickhead if you don’t wanna be treated like one. People start fights for less where I’m from.” 

You quirked up a brow,both amused and intrigued. 

“Oh,really? And where might that be?”

He looked at you like the answer was painfully obvious.

“From New Jersey,genius.”


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your neighbor had a name,and it was Michael Jones. 
> 
> You were, unfortunately,captivated by him.

Eight months wasn't much in the grand scheme of things,but in the midst of it all,it was everything. 

Over the span of eight months,you had learned about Michael. You learned that he'd been offered a job in Austin for a company called Rooster Teeth and that he'd moved here from New Jersey. You learned that he really enjoyed video games,though the way he got angry while playing them made you worry about having a stress/anger induced stroke by the age of thirty. You learned that he had an interest in voice acting,anime,and movies. You learned about his brothers,Denise,and his dad. But you mostly learned that underneath all of the smart-assery and irritability,he was a good,kind person. Really. 

You couldn't be sure when the feelings had started coming into play exactly, but you had a pretty damn good idea of when you noticed them.   
.................................................................................

"I hate storms,"you mumbled to yourself,looking out of your window. Rain steamed down the window pane, blurring the view of outside. With a sigh, you turned away and wiped your hands on the fabric of your jeans before heading towards your front door. 

Michael has finally caved and agreed to let you come over after...three? Four? Four months of asking and dropping subtle hints,and you were to come over after he got home from work,which was supposed to be any moment now. 

Sure enough,no sooner than you had stepped in front of your door,you heard the sound of a car pulling into a parking spot. Curious,you unlocked the door,pulled it open just a crack,and peeked outside. 

A car door slammed shut,followed by someone running up the stairs. At first,you weren't sure if it was him or not,but you heard a metal clanging sound immediately followed by that familiar Jersey accent- which was becoming less and less pronounced as of late- blurt out a loud, resounding,"FUCK!" 

_There he is._

You closed the door and took a brief moment to brace yourself. You weren't sure what to expect exactly. Were you going to sit around and make awkward conversation? Were you going to say something stupid,and then he'd have to give some lame,half-ass excuse to get you to leave? Hell,you didn't know. You felt incredibly nervous; you once again wiped your sweaty palms on your jeans and barely refrained from biting the skin off your lip- a nervous habit you'd been trying to kick for awhile now. 

When you heard the knock on your door,you felt like a bullet someone had just shot out of a gun. Your hands fumbled with the doorknob,and you kind of wanted to slap the shit out of yourself. 

_Stop being ridiculous,[Y/N]. You're acting like a dumbass._

Still,it was hard to control the strange thump-thump-thumping of your heart and the way you let up like fireworks on the Fourth of July when you opened the door and saw Michael's face. 

He pulled his hoodie off,and you noticed how his hair stuck up in fifty different directions,a damp mess from the wind and the rain. You stood there,just looking at him until he spoke. 

"You coming up or not?"

You nodded. "Of course."

You both climbed the stairs to his front door,your hand gripping the railing the whole way up. He occasionally bumped into your free hand,and you'd take a quick glance at his face to see if he was looking at you. When it turned out that he wasn't,you felt an unexplainable sense of dismay. 

You both stood outside his front door as he fiddled with the doorknob much like you did earlier,only without the nervousness and more like he was getting reeeeeeally annoyed at the fact that the door was stuck. With one final push,the door opened,and he stepped inside then stepped aside to let you in. 

The first thing you noticed was how clean everything was. You thought that an apartment inhabited by a dude would be at least a little bit messy,so it was safe to say you were slightly taken aback at the lack of a mess. 

As Michael went off to dry his hair,you took a moment to look around. As far as pictures and the such went,there wasn't a whole lot to look at. There was a couple of him as a teen,a few of his family,but there was only one that caught your eye. 

It was of Michael and a girl with red hair,arms thrown around each other and smiles on their faces. For a brief moment,you felt something rise like bile up in your throat. It was the same feeling you felt when you had seen your ex with someone else the first time you had been on a "break". 

Jealousy. 

You swallowed thickly and forced yourself to turn away,and you did the best to push the picture out of your mind. You weren't going to let it ruin your good time. 

When Michael came out,he headed towards the kitchen. You were tempted to see what he was doing,but you figured that he didn't want you breathing down his neck,so you sat back and let yourself relax a little bit. 

He walked back out, carrying two steaming bowls. He put them both on the coffee table,and you sat down in front of one and picked up a fork. 

"I remembered how much you like ramen,so...uh. I made some for you. I figured food and video games would be a pretty great way to spend the evening,"he explained as he sat down next to you. 

Heat crept into your face,and a surge of gratitude swept over you. To some,the gesture might not have been anything note-worthy,but to you,it meant a lot. You had spent so much time in a funk lately,bored and more than a little lonely,and it was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for you. Or,at the least,one of the most considerate things. 

After the two of you are and rinsed your bowls out,you sat down on the couch as Michael went through his games. When he pulled out Banjo Kazooie,and you said you'd never played it before in you life,Michael took the time to be offended (for show,of course) before plopping a controller in your lap. 

After an hour or so of that,you switched over to Mario Kart. You grinned. You had played Mario Kart before,and you'd like to think that you were pretty fucking good at it. You figured you'd just keep that information to yourself and see how your skills compared to Michael's. 

Two Grand Prix later,you were smug and Michael was both mildly bitter but mostly impressed. 

You two spent several more hours playing different games,most of which you knew nothing about,(which you figured was payback for completing destroying him in Mario Kart) laughing,and throwing around only half-serious insults until you realized how late it had gotten. 

"Shit,"you swore under your breath,dropping your controller,"it's almost midnight,and I've got shit to do in the morning."

Michael squinted and furrowed his brows. "It's almost midnight?" Apparently he hadn't been keeping track of the time either. 

You stood up. "Yeah. I gotta get going."

Michael sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Can I at least take you to your door?" 

You agreed to the offer,and you both made your way down the stairs. His hand brushed against yours,and you caught him looking at you only once,but it was enough. You felt yourself blush as your heart began to race,the feelings coming back to hit you at full force. 

When you both finally stood outside your door,you figured it was time to say something. 

"Thanks,by the way. For,uh, tonight and all. It was really nice," you began,shifting your weight from one door to the other. You wanted to say so many other things,and Michael looked like he was holding back,too,but you knew that your lips would fail you if you even tried to put the warm feeling in your chest into words that made sense. 

Maybe that was why you were so surprised when you felt his lips quickly press against yours in a chaste,gentle kiss. Maybe that's why you were so surprised when he said,"No,thank you," with a smile on his face and soft fondness in his eyes. All you know is that you stood there, completely still, completely captivated by what had just happened as he quickly made his way back up those stairs. 

A few minutes later,laying in your bed, you'd still be able to feel the ghost of the kiss on your lips,smiling as you fell into a blissful slumber. 

...God,you were fucked.


	3. Chapter 3 (End)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader goes on a date with Michael and finally gets the answer to the question that's been bothering her for months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ain't dead, bitches.

You took a deep breath as you looked at yourself in the mirror. Your ex had never liked it when you dressed this way- confident, bold- but for a split second, you saw what Michael saw in you. You were a strong, smart person, and no amount of angry texts on your ex’s part would chance that. (You had since blocked their number, but only after threatening to send Michael their way. This shut them up very, very quickly.) 

Truthfully, you had been surprised when Michael offered to take you out on a date. You hadn't really ever been on a proper one before, and to say that the idea of it made you anxious was an understatement. Still, you agreed. After all, you'd have to have been crazy to turn him down. You knew you liked him, and since he had been the one to ask you out, you knew he liked you back. What did you have to be nervous about? 

You thought of the picture of him with the girl and swallowed thickly. 

As you walked out of your front door, you tried to push the thought out of your head. Instead, you turned on your music and put your headphones on, playing a soft song about starting over. 

When you arrived at the cafe, you pulled your headphones off and looked around. You couldn't see Michael, and in that moment, you started to panic. Had he stood you up? Were you somehow late? Was he the one that was late? You didn't know.

 

...No, wait. He was there, just in a corner in the back. He noticed you were looking at him and waved at you, and, only vaguely self-conscious, you waved back and made your way to where he sat. 

“Hey, y/n,” he began as you sat down. For some inexplicable reason, you felt heat rush to your face as you mumbled a greeting and immediately tried to look at anything else besides his face. 

“Come on, y/n. You're not usually this shy. Something up?” he asked. You flicked your eyes up and caught a glance at his face- you could see all of his freckles and the beginnings of a mustache on his upper lip. (God, he might've been cute, but he could not pull off facial hair.) 

You shrugged nonchalantly, as if there wasn't something eating at you from the inside out. The brief moment of confidence you had felt earlier had melted away and gave way to a version of you that felt insecure and confused where you stood. 

“It's just.. uh,” you began, nervously picking at your nail,”you know, you asked me to come here, but..” you trailed. 

Michael nodded, and when you didn't continue, he sighed. 

“Just spit it out already, will you? I want us to have a nice time, but you seem distracted.” 

You remained silent for one more minute, then finally asked what had been bothering you for quite some time now. 

"Who was the girl in that picture? Like, are y'all dating or what?”

Michael seemed confused for a second, as if he were racking his brain for what you might have been talking about it. Then, something settled across his face- something you couldn't quite decipher- before he threw his head back and burst into laughter. You had learned a while ago that Michael didn't have a normal laugh; he laughed loud and managed to sound like a cartoon character with his “HAHAHAHA!”ing. 

It was your turn to feel confused. Why was he laughing? 

It took a moment for him to stop, but when he did, you understood. 

“Y/n, Lindsay's gay,” Michael began, chortling,”well, I mean, she's technically bisexual, but she likes women all the same. We're friends, and we've been friends for a little bit now. She like, complimented my tattoos and stuff and I kind of told her to fuck off. She should've kicked my ass but now, really.”

“...Oh,” you deadpanned, feeling like a dumbass. You had been jealous for nothing, and that kind of made you feel like shit. 

Michael immediately turned serious when he realized this. 

“Hey, there was no way you could’ve known. I didn't even know until she told me. Besides, I wouldn't have asked you out if we had been dating. I might be an asshole, but I don't like leading girls on. That shit's for the fucking birds.”

And, just like that, all of your nervousness faded away to nothing. The tension in your shoulders disappeared, and you managed a soft smile. Michael was unlike anyone you had ever known, and that was a good thing. You should've known that he wasn't that type of person to begin with. When you looked back on it later, you realized that you just had a tendency to assume the worst in terms of romantic pursuits/ partners due to the (quite frankly abusive) relationship with your ex. 

Later, only after being threatened to get kicked out by one of the waitresses for not actually ordering anything, the two of you walked down the block to your car. For a moment, you wanted to bring up your ex, but Michael took a hold of your hand and started talking about the Christmas movies he watched with his family growing up, and you wanted to talk about that, too. The past was the past for just that moment, and you were so incredibly grateful for it 

Love, you had decided, didn't have to hurt. It didn't have to break or burn or end horrendously and leave you hurt. It could be something gentle, something steady and sure- and on that day, you watched it begin again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, after procrastinating for several months, I managed to finish this in the span of like..thirty minutes. It's almost like you can do a lot of you apply yourself! 
> 
> Truth be told, I started writing this after getting dumped for the seventh time (much like the character) and as a Swiftie, I listened to Begin Again and asked myself,”Well, why the fuck not blend this and my Achievement Hunter thing?” So I did, as you do. 
> 
> Thanks to the like, one person who commented and the three people who bookmarked it! Even if it's not a lot, even the slightest bit of support will keep me writing. :) As always, feedback is appreciated! <3


End file.
